


Hold My Hand

by onesevenstyles



Category: One Direction (Band)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-05 13:16:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 5,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5376623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onesevenstyles/pseuds/onesevenstyles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>fic where louis goes over with his mum to her best friend anne’s house bc she had a baby and its time to meet him and so there’s two year old louis and like six day old harry and louis thinks he looks funny and he says so and all the adults laugh. adults laugh at him all the time and he doesn’t really get it and he’s not 100% sure if he likes it, but he’s got the attention span of, well, a two year old so he turns back to the smushy pink thing that wiggles occasionally and gemma, his bestest friend in the whole wide world, asks him if he wants to touch harrys hand bc his skin is soft bc its so new. so louis does and babies have an instinct that causes them to grab on tight to anything in their hand, but louis doesn’t know that, and so when harry has a death grip on louis’ index finger its obviously just a sign that he likes him... (found on tumblr)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The chapters won't be extremely long, and I'm sorry for that, but I did my best to get across the fluffiness.

Louis sidled up close to his mother’s leg, one arm wrapping itself around her jeans and the other moving to stick his pointer and middle fingers into his mouth.  Johannah chuckled at her son, using her free right hand to gently stroke the soft tuft of hair she had styled into a quiff and using her left elbow to ring the doorbell.

There was a bit of commotion inside and the sound of a baby crying before the door flew open, a flustered Anne Styles at the door.

“I hope we aren’t interrupting?” Jay trailed.

Anne quickly shooed her hands in Jay’s direction.

“No, no, no, Harry’s just woken from his nap.” Anne explained.

Louis knitted his eyebrows together, but Jay didn’t miss a beat, a smile spreading across her face.

“Harry?! Oh, you had a boy!”

Anne beamed, nodding proudly, and taking the bag Jay held out towards her with a grateful smile.  The mother and son were then ushered into the house, Anne closing the door behind her.

“You can head to the living room- Des is in there with the kids.”

Jay nodded but grabbed Anne’s elbow before she could leave.

“Do you need any help?”

Louis watched with wide eyes while the two mothers interacted.

“Oh, could you? I have to clean Harry’s bottles and pacifiers before he gets too fussy.”

Jay nodded understandingly, and bent down to Louis’ level before brushing away his stray hairs.

“Louis, go on into the living room and play with Gemma, okay?”

Louis nodded slowly, letting his mother turn and push him in the right direction before disappearing with Anne.  The toddler pulled his fingers out of his mouth and slowly made his way towards the living room, where he heard small gurgling noises before Gemma came into view, perched on the back of her knees and looking up at something on the couch.

Desmond, Gemma’s father, was sitting on the couch, a lump of blanket in his arms.  Gemma was making weird faces at it, and Louis furrowed his eyebrows.

“Louis!” Gemma whisper-yelled.

The two year old looked over to the four year old, eyes wide.  Gemma quickly gestured Louis over, and the toddler abided, moving until he was standing next to the older girl.

“Louis, it’s my baby brother.” Gemma whispered.

Louis furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the small blanket bundle and frowning at what he saw.

“Looks funny.” Louis commented.

Des laughed loudly, tipping his head back.  From behind him, Louis heard his mother and Anne laughing, too, and her furrowed his eyebrows at them before his attention was taken by a tap on his shoulder.

“Louiiiiiiiis,” Gemma whined.

The toddler shrugged off Gemma’s prodding finger, waiting for the rest of what she had to say.

Gemma, instead, took Louis’ hand in her own.

“Touch his hand, Louis- it’s so soft.”

The two year old furrowed his eyebrows again, but did as told, reaching his hand out to the tiny arm that had thrust itself out of the blanket.  It took five seconds of Louis’ hand being on Harry’s for the tiny hand to wrap itself around one of Louis’ fingers, and Louis’ face lit up.

Louis slipped his hand into his mother’s, waving goodbye to Anne while the two of them made their way down the driveway and across the street back to their own house.

Jay fished her keys from her pocket, looking down at Louis.

“Did you have fun tonight?” Jay asked.

Louis nodded exaggeratedly, eyes gleaming.

“I think Harry likes me.” Louis shared.

Jay raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah?”

Louis nodded rapidly, head bobbing up and down.

“Yeah, mummy- he held my finger!”

Louis emphasized this point by thrusting said finger in the air, and Jay smiled fondly at her son.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and when harry is three, he holds louis’ finger when they’re at the park so he doesn’t fall behind

Louis was practically bursting with excitement, feet kicking against the back of his mother’s chair repeatedly while Harry snoozed beside him.  He wasn’t even sure how the three year old could be sleeping at a time like this- they were going to the park!

“Louis, honey, please stop kicking my seat.” Johannah asked gently.

The five year old just flashed his mum an innocent smile.

“Sorry, mummy, I’m just so excited!” Louis shrieked.

Jay smiled warmly at her son before pressing her finger to her lips.

“I know, Loubear, but stay quiet, okay? You don’t want to wake Harry.”

Louis made a big show of zipping his lips closed and throwing away the key, earning a laugh from Jay, and turned his attention to the street, excitement overcoming him once again.  Louis could see the jungle gym, and the swings, and the monkey bars, all of which he was determined to play on before his two hours were up and he had to go home and nap.

“Okay, Boo, you know the rules, right?” Jay asked, opening the door.

Louis nodded viciously.

“Yes, mummy!”

Jay went to work unbuckling and waking Harry while she listened to Louis rattle off the rules.

“No running in the parking lot, always watch Harry, and get mummy if Harry gets hurt.”

“And?” Johannah trailed.

Louis scrunched his face up, confusion clouding over.

“And don’t talk to strangers.” Jay supplied.

The confusion drained and Louis nodded.

“And don’t talk to strangers!” Louis shouted.

Harry jolted awake at the outburst and using his tiny hands to rub the sleep from his eyes.

“Hazza, we’re here!” Louis whisper-yelled.

Harry lifted his head from Jay’s shoulder, smile spreading across his face.

“Park!”

The toddler wiggled around, reaching himself out of Jay’s arms and towards Louis, who accepted him with a smile and led the way with the toddler in his arms, Jay trailing cautiously to step in if Louis needed any help.

“Park! Park! Park!” Harry chanted happily, bouncing in Louis' arms.

Johannah hummed in agreement and took Harry from her son when they reached an empty bench, setting the toddler on her lap and pulling his tennis shoes from the bag Anne had given her with Harry’s things.  

“Shoes first, boys.”

Louis plopped down on the sidewalk, pulling off the Vans he had gotten the day before (there was no way Jay was letting him play in the brand new white shoes) and yanking on the old tennis shoes, looping the bunny ears and pulling them through.

Louis pulled the last of his shoelaces tight, immediately flying off the bench and running towards the monkey bars, ready to show off his strength to Harry.

The five year old wasn’t even halfway, though, when he heard it.

“Oof!”

And then there were loud, shrill whines that sounded only like Harry’s.

Louis guiltily spun on his heel to face the bench his mum had been sitting on, and he watched as Jay scooped Harry into her arms, carrying the three year old to the bench and setting him on her lap to inspect his bleeding knees and scraped palms.

Louis sulked back to them, knowing it was his fault- Harry loved tagging along with everything Louis did, and he _knew_ Harry was clumsy, but he had still run off to leave the three year old with no choice but to chase him.  

Johannah was gently rocking Harry bridal-style in her arms, cooing quietly and giving Louis the disappointing mother look when he returned to the bench.

The next few minutes were spent consoling Harry, and when his crying turned to soft hiccups, Jay propped the boy up on her lap and carefully cleaned up his knees, placing small bandaids over the top of each one and kissing it gently before pulling a tissue from her bag and wiping Harry’s eyes and nose.

It took another couple of minutes for Harry’s tears to fully dry up, but once they did, the dimpled smile was back on the toddler’s face.  

Johannah checked him over once more to make sure there weren’t any unseen scrapes and set Harry back on his feet, giving Louis a look that entirely said you better watch him, young man.

“Let’s play now, Harry.” Louis suggested.

The toddler nodded and Louis turned on his heel, heading for the monkey bars at a slower pace than before.  Harry toddled close behind, and Louis stepped off the concrete and into the bed of woodchips when he felt someone wrap their hand around Louis’ finger.

Louis dropped his gaze to his hand, smiling at Harry’s small hand wrapped around his index finger, and he fell into step beside Harry, kissing him softly on the top of his head.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and when harry is six he hold louis’ finger when they walk into the school together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to include Lottie, Fizzy, and Gemma here, so let’s just pretend they tagged along but aren’t mentioned.

There was a sharp knock on the door and Louis lifted his head from his bowl of cereal, eyebrows raised while Jay excused herself from the table and went off to answer it.

Several seconds later, Louis heard Anne’s voice and Harry chirping a happy greeting before the two of them were ushered into the kitchen.

“Lou, Harry and Anne are here.” Jay explained as if the eight year old couldn't see them.

Harry took a seat at the table beside Louis, smiling at him with wide dimples and placing his lunchbox on the table.

“Hi, Louis.”

Louis didn't reply, his mouth too full of Coco Pops, but he gave Harry a closed-mouth smile.  The mothers excused themselves to gossip while the two boys were left alone, and Louis scooted off his chair to put away his bowl before he turned to Harry.

“I have to pack my bag.”

Harry nodded, wordlessly following Louis upstairs and into the older boy’s bedroom, watching while Louis threw his pencil case, notebook, folder, and reading book into a Spider-Man backpack before swinging it over his shoulder and making his way back to the adults.

“Mum, I'm ready.” Louis announced.

Jay and Anne jumped slightly, their conversation put to a quick halt while they both stood to take their boys to school.

It was a short ten minute walk, so the two women decided to accompany the boys for their first day before they would start taking turns.

Johannah helped Louis into his blazer and set his matching Spider-Man lunch box into his small hands before opening the front door and leading everyone outside before locking back up.

The four of them started off towards the school, Louis and Harry leading the way while Anne and Jay gossiped behind them in hushed voices.  Louis could tell that it was serious, so he did his best to distract Harry by pointing out cool things they passed.

The walk went by quickly like that, and within minutes the two boys were standing outside the gate.  There was a strict no parents on campus rule, forcing the two mothers to say their goodbyes at the gate.

“What room is Harry in?” Jay asked Anne.

Anne pulled a print out from her purse and read it off.

“203A, Miss Watts.”

“Ooh, Louis had Miss Watts, too- he can show Harry the way.” Jay offered.

Anne lit up at the suggestion, taking Harry into her arms and kissing him softly on the cheek before situating his backpack for him.

“I’ll pick you up right here after school, okay?”

Harry nodded and Anne stood back up.

“C’mon, Hazza.” Louis encouraged, excited to find his friends.

The two boys turned to the school, and Louis smiled when he felt Harry’s finger grab onto his own, something he found Harry did when he was scared.

“‘m scared.” Harry murmured.

“It’s alright, Haz- I’ll protect you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending was so cheesy I’m drowninggggggg


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and when harry is [seven] they lock pinkies and swear that they’ll be best friends forever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I adjusted the age to fit the scenario

Louis dangled his feet over the edge of the tree house, waiting for Harry to climb up and join him.  The head of curly hair could be seen popping up through the entrance to the tree house, and then Harry’s dimpled smile came into view while the seven year old pushed himself into the wooden structure and headed towards Louis.

“Hi, Haz.” Louis smiled.

Harry plopped down next to Louis, draping his arms over the rope railing.  The seven year old was almost the same height as Louis, which slightly annoyed the older boy, but it was nice because people didn’t always notice Louis hung out with a younger lad (and his friends hardly knew, too).  

The two boys stared at the vast opening behind Louis’ yard for the longest time, until Harry let out a long, choked sigh and Louis looked over, surprised to find tears in the younger boy’s eyes.

“Hazza?” Louis asked softly.

Harry blinked rapidly a few times, but that only made the tears leak from his eyes while he tried to brush them away.

“Harry, what’s wrong?”

The younger boy sniffled.

“My dad’s leaving.”

Louis frowned, eyebrows furrowing together.

“What?”

Harry looked to Louis, eyes full of upset.

“Before I came, my mum and dad said they had to talk to me and Gems, and they said that they don’t love each other anymore and so my dad has to leave.” Harry explained.

Louis didn’t know what to say.

“And then they said that sometimes people have to leave.”

“That’s true.” Louis agreed.

Harry looked at Louis with tearful eyes.

“Does that mean you’re gonna leave, too?” Harry asked quietly.

Louis tilted his head to the side in confusion, furrowing his eyebrows at the question.

Harry got the hint and cleared his throat to continue.

“Everyone leaves at some point, so that means you will.”

Louis shook his head.

“No.”

“Yeah, Lou. You’re gonna leave one day and I’ll be all by myself.”

Harry choked out the final three words, breaking into sobs and causing Louis to pull the younger boy into his arms, gently rubbing his hand up and down Harry’s back.

“No you won’t, Harry.” Louis insisted.

Harry pulled away, wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands.

“How do you know?” Harry asked hesitantly.

“Because,” Louis began, “you’re my best friend, and I’ll never leave you.”

Harry still seemed skeptical, though, so Louis huffed.

“And even if I do- which I won’t- we’ll still be best friends.” Louis promised.

Harry raised an eyebrow.

“Forever.” Louis added.

Harry sniffed and raised his fist to the air, pinkie sticking up.

“You promise?” he asked softly.

Louis smiled warmly, lifting his own pinkie and hooking it with Harry’s smaller one.

“Promise.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and when harry is fourteen louis holds his hand when he cries out his biggest secret

“Dinner is ready!”

Louis and Harry leapt off Louis’ bed, racing down to the kitchen and slipping into their chairs, seeing who could beat the other.  The rest of the Tomlinsons watched with amused smiles, more than used to the shenanigans of the two boys, and Lottie helped tease when Harry won.  

Jay allowed the boys their extra minutes of cheering (or grumbling, in Louis’ case) before calling out to calm them down and pass around the casserole dish.  

Everyone took turns passing the dishes and filling their plates before digging into their meals, the sound of forks and knives on the plates being the only noise for a while.

“How was school, everyone?” Mark asked.

Daisy and Phoebe went off on a story of some game they played at preschool, the older ones listening and providing remarks when necessary.

Lottie went off next, talking about some boy that had sat next to her in history that had “gorgeous” green eyes and was “insanely fit”.  This, of course, led to more intimate conversation.

“And you, Louis? Any special girl on your mind?” Mark prompted.

Louis shrugged, scrunching half his face.

“Not really- studies are the focus right now, dad. But, if you ask in another month, the answer might be different.” Louis replied, hinting at the upcoming winter formal dance.

Mark nodded in approval and looked to Harry.

“What about you, Harry?”

The younger lad swallowed his meal sharply before shaking his head.

“No special girl?”

Harry shook his head again.

“I find that hard to believe. You’re quite the charmer, Harry,” Jay complimented, “I’m sure there’s at least one girl you’ve got your eye on.”

“Yeah, Haz,” Louis jumped in, “I see the way Taylor flirts with you at lunch.”

Harry gulped his water before answering.

“Uh, I don’t think she’s my type.”

“Well, then, what is?” Louis asked.

Harry visibly gulped.

“Um, I don’t know, blue eyes?”

Fizzy gasped.

“Ooh, me too! I love blue eyes.”

The attention was turned to Felicite for the next few minutes while she ranted about this boy in her homeroom with blue eyes and an amazing smile, but that it sucked that he was a stuck-up jock.  Everyone at the table just listened carefully, and Louis smirked at the disapproving look Mark was giving at the thought of his ten year old daughter liking a boy.  

He wasn’t even paying any attention to Harry, which was why he was startled when his mother gasped.

“Harry, are you alright?”

Everyone turned to look at said boy, and Louis himself noticed that Harry had gone pale.

“Uhm, uh, I dunno, I’m not feeling too well suddenly.” Harry stammered.

Jay went into protective mother mode, rushing out of her chair towards Harry.

“Oh, you feel warm, dear.”

Harry gulped, and Louis swore he went paler, looking extremely uncomfortable.

“Uh, may I go lie down?” Harry asked.

Jay nodded, answering for everyone and promising to be up shortly with some water and medicine.

The rest of the Tomlinson family watched silently while Harry excused himself and disappeared up the stairs to Louis’ room.  

Shortly after dinner ended, Louis took the pills and glass of water from his mum, promising to deliver them to Harry and making his way to his room to tend to the sickly boy.

Harry was sitting up on Louis’ bed, head hung and shoulders rising with each shuddered breath.

“Haz? I’ve got some medicine.” Louis announced.

Harry let out another shuddered breath before he spoke.

“I have to tell you something, Lou.”

The worst case scenarios flooded through Louis’ mind, and he was about to blurt them all out before he noticed Harry was crying.

Louis practically dropped the pills and water on the desktop before enveloping Harry in a hug, arms wrapped tight around the younger boy.

Harry’s body shook with shuddered sobs, and Louis felt his own eyes pricking with tears, wondering what- or who- had Harry this upset.  

Louis, who had never been very good at consoling people, stayed in that position until Harry took three deep breaths and pulled away.

“Haz, what's wrong?” Louis asked softly.

Harry let out another shaky breath, and Louis grabbed his hands with his own, squeezing softly.

“You're going to hate me.” Harry mumbled.

Louis frowned.

“You'll think I'm disgusting.”

Louis dropped his jaw a tiny bit. He couldn't think of anything Harry would do to make Louis ever think of him as disgusting.

Tears were streaming down Harry’s face again and Louis squeezed the boy’s hands again, letting him know he was there.

“Lou,” Harry gasped brokenly.

Louis used one hooked finger to lift Harry’s jaw, bringing the younger boy’s green eyes to meet his.

“Go on, love.” Louis urged.

Harry let out another sob.

“I-I’m gay.”

Louis froze, the small change in atmosphere causing Harry to rip his hands from Louis’ and break into more heart-wrenching sobs.

“I'm sorry, Lou, I'm so sorry,”

Louis waved his hands, breaking off Harry’s apology.

“Hazza, you've got nothing to be sorry for.”

Harry hiccuped, shakily wiping his tears.

“Aren't you disgusted? Aren't you gonna think I've got a crush on you?”

Louis smirked.

“Why, you don't?” Louis shrieked, feigning hurt.

Harry choked out a small laugh at that before taking in another deep breath. Louis could tell the attempt at laughter hadn't done its full job.

“Hazza, you don't have to apologize- this isn't something you can control.”

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but Louis raised a hand to stop him.

“And if you can't control it, why would I hate you for it? That'd do nothing but make me look like a right dick, yeah?”

Harry laughed again, sniffling and wiping off more tears.

“You promise you don't hate me?” Harry asked wearily.

Louis nodded, giving Harry’s hands another soft squeeze.

“I could never hate you, Harry.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not updating this week! i had finals so i was busy studying and all that good stuff


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and when harry is sixteen louis holds his hand because that’s what boyfriends do

Shortly after Louis consoled Harry on his bed and promised to never hate him for being gay, the older lad found himself in a protective state over the younger boy.

It had always been about protecting Harry since the two boys were little, but this time, Louis felt like there was actually something out there that could harm the boy- actual people that would be out to hurt him.

The signs rolled in slowly with everything else.  Louis walked Harry to classes and sat with him at lunch. Louis invited Harry over after school and held him while he cried about the taunting.

It wasn't really much of a surprise when Louis caught himself staring at Harry one night, smiling at how adorable the smaller boy looked wrapped up in Louis’ sheets and eyebrows furrowed while he dreamt.

From there, everything was a bit of a struggle. Louis knew he had always liked girls, but for some reason, he liked Harry- and  _ only _ Harry. It took a few hours of research (and then crying to Jay when she confronted him about the search history) before Louis realized that he must be bisexual.

It took another six months for Louis to tell Harry, but it went nothing like Harry’s coming out.

Louis showed up at Harry’s doorstep, hands wrung tight while he hurriedly shared the news, Harry’s eyebrows furrowing when he didn't understand a single thing the boy had said.

Louis was then invited inside for some freshly baked cookies and he shoved his mouth full of the snack before sharing his news again.  But this time, Harry heard him, and he stared at Louis with wide eyes.

Harry hadn't been entirely convinced, but after the two boys retreated to Harry’s bedroom and talked for the rest of the night, Harry had the biggest smile on his face and was able

to safely share that he, too, liked Louis. As more than a friend.

 

From there, the two boys spent a little more time together, and hand-holding became their thing.

It allowed Louis to openly show everyone that Harry was  _ his _ and that if you messed with the curly haired boy then you were messing with Louis, too.  And, Harry said it always made him feel safe.

The boys’ six month anniversary was today, and Louis had decided to stay in and treat Harry to some dinner and a movie, knowing the younger boy didn't want a big song and dance.

Halfway through the movie, Louis and Harry’s hands were intertwined, and Harry looked up at Louis from where his head was resting on the older boy’s lap.

“Please don't ever break my heart like that.” Harry requested.

Louis bent over and gently pecked Harry on the lips.

“I could never, babe,”

The older boy froze, thinking over his next words.

“I love you.”

Harry froze, eyes moving back up to Louis from where they had refocused on the TV.  Louis waited, hoping he hasn't crossed the line too early, before Harry took Louis’ hand closer to his face and pressed a kiss to it, keeping their fingers locked together.

“I love you too, Lou.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and when harry is 21 there’s a ring on his finger

There had never been a time in Louis’ twenty-three years of living when he had been so nervous- he hadn’t even been this nervous when he asked Harry to move in with him.  It was almost twenty degrees outside, snow clinging to the windowsill, but Louis felt like it was near one hundred; the poor lad had already changed shirts twice because he was just sweating too much.

“Lou, ‘m ready.” Harry announced, walking into the living room.

Louis practically leapt off the couch, straightening his shirt and grabbing his coat, opening the door for Harry and ushering him through first.

“I feel underdressed, babe,” Harry began, stopping in the doorway.

The younger lad looked down at his outfit- black boots, jeans, and silky top (unbuttoned at the top, of course)- and then to Louis, who was in black skinny jeans and white button-up with his hair styled nicely.

“You  _ never _ dress up, Lou, I need to change.”

Louis grabbed Harry’s arm, though, stopping him, and the younger lad furrowed his eyebrows.

“You look fine, Haz,” Louis insisted, “and if you change, we’ll lose the reservation.”

Harry thought this over for a moment before deciding that changing clothes wasn’t more important than their five year anniversary dinner and exiting the house, letting Louis lock up behind them and open his door before they got comfortable and headed off.

“It wasn’t too crowded for tonight, right?” Harry double-checked.

Louis nodded, even though it didn’t really matter- the two of them had celebrated every one of their anniversaries at the same restaurant, and Louis had made their reservation as soon as the date reached six-months beforehand.  

“I even preordered our wine.” Louis smiled.

Harry nodded, content, and turned his attention out the window.  Louis leaned forward at the next stoplight and turned on the radio, settling back into his chair and lacing his fingers with Harry’s, unable to miss the smile the spread across his features.

 

The couple was shown to their table shortly after they arrived, and Louis did all the gentleman things- slid back the chair for Harry, draped his coat over his seat.

The maître d’ gave them their menus and named their waitress for the night before excusing himself to return to the host desk.

Louis leaned forward and turned their wine glasses right side up.  The bottle was sitting in its bucket nicely, and Louis pulled out the cork, pouring himself and Harry some of the liquid before taking a small sip.  Harry did the same, downing almost half his cup before putting the glass back down and dropping his eyes to his menu.

“Haz?”

Harry hummed in reply, eyes not leaving the menu.

“Did you see what wine that was?” Louis asked, excitement lacing his voice.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows, looking at Louis before taking the bottle from the bucket.  Louis took the time Harry spent reading the label to slide onto the floor, one knee supporting his weight.  The older boy watched as realization dawned on Harry’s face, the biggest smile breaking out.

“But you said-” Harry began before he noticed Louis and froze.

“Harry Styles, will you marry me?”

Time seemed to stand still before Harry was nodded vigorously, practically throwing himself out of his chair and into Louis’ arms, murmured confirmations spilling out of his mouth.

When the younger lad finally pulled out the embrace, Louis smiled widely, taking Harry’s finger in his own before slipping a ring onto it.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got this proposal idea because it’s how my soccer coach said she was proposed to (the wine part) and I thought it was really cute and original.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and when harry is 24, their daughter’s tiny fist can’t even wrap around the width of his index

The last year had been a whirlwind of events for the newly-wed couple.  

Two weeks following the Tomlinson-Styles honeymoon in Greece, the husbands were lying in bed, hands wrapped tightly together.  Harry broke the silence.

“I want to have a baby.”

The next day, Harry called into work “sick” and looked up every center for baby surrogates that existed in the London area, calling every possible person and crossing people off his list.  By the time Louis got home at five o’clock, Harry had narrowed his list down to ten possible candidates, and the two spent the next few months scheduling meetings to get to know whoever would be carrying their baby.

Three days before Harry’s twenty-third birthday, the couple were notified that their background checks had come back well and they were ready to begin the process.

It was a struggle between who would be the baby’s biological father- Harry wanted nothing more than to have a tiny Louis to care for, while Louis begged for another baby Harry.  The argument was ultimately won when Louis found a website that merged the parent’s baby pictures to determine what your child might look like and the surrogate-Harry mixture was just too adorable to turn down.  

Five months later, the couple came home from late dinner at the Tomlinson’s to a message on their phone from none other than the chosen surrogate, Amelia, proudly congratulating the couple and telling them that she was official pregnant.

From there, every week consisted of meeting with Amelia and her husband, George, and the four adults would catch up on the status of the pregnancy over a cup of tea, a meal, or shopping for the nursery.  

 

Eight months, two weeks, and four days later, Louis was startled awake at four twenty-seven in the morning when his phone let out the shrill tone the couple had picked out for Amelia.  

It took a few seconds for the recognition to settle in, but once it did and their thoughts were reassured by George’s announcement of “the baby’s coming!” the Tomlinson-Styles household became a flurry of activity.

Louis grabbed the small bag they had prepared for the welcoming of their baby- whose gender they chose to not find out- and Harry buckled the baby carrier into the backseat of the Range Rover before bringing the engine to life.  Louis scrambled into the passenger seat closely after, and the two were off. 

When the two lads showed up at the hospital, the closest nearest shuffled them towards Amelia’s room, explaining that her water had broken and she was close to being able to push.  

True to this information, the boys had just enough time to get in and change into a set of scrubs before the doctor made himself known and started the procedure, asking Amelia to push when necessary.

Ten minutes later, a shrill cry filled the small room and nurses stepped forward to wrap the baby in a towel before letting Amelia briefly hold it while the umbilical cord was cut before whisking it to the other side of the room to be weighed and tagged.

The doctor returned from where he had been hovering and smiled at the four adults.

“It's a girl.”

Harry turned to beam at Louis, nodding his head once before Louis turned back to the doctor, smiling proudly while he named their baby girl.

“Evie Grace Styles-Tomlinson.”

The nurse standing nearest scribbled it down, spelling the name aloud as she wrote to double check the spelling, and the nurse that had been taking Evie’s height and weight bundled her in a new blanket and beanie before passing her to Amelia, allowing the mother to hold her for a bit before she was handed to Harry.

The new father immediately cooed at the small baby, gently stroking her cheek with his index finger before moving to wiggle her tiny hand.

Evie responded to this touch quickly, her tiny hand grasping Harry’s finger, the little fingers barely meeting on the other end of Harry’s index.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to everyone who read!  
> i had a lot of fun writing this, and i hope the chapters fulfilled your expectations of what you wanted it to be/thought it would be.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm unsure about my title, so I'm opening it up to a vote... Just comment the title you want out of this list of options:  
> 1) Hold My Hand  
> 2) Hold Each Other  
> 3) Take My Hand


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